Head-lamp assembly



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UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE HEAD-LAMP' ASSEMBLY .Wesley C. Casson, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Briggs Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application March 9. 1193s. serial No. 194,905

7 claims. c1.z4os1.1o)

This invention relates to means for mounting and adjustinghead lamps of motor vehicles, especially, although not exclusively, single illament head lamps producing a single light beam and in which the lamp bulb, reector and lens are formed in a single unit.

The general object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting for movably supporting a head-lamp unit capable of convenient operation from the drivers station for the purpose of controlling the position of the unit and thereby -varying the direction of the projectedl light beam, as, for example, elevating or depressing the same, in accordance with driving conditions.

The invention is in the nature of an improvement on the head-lamp mounting described in my prior application filed October 8, 1937, Serial No. 168,022, and has for certain of its more particular objects to provide a simpler and more compact assembly in which the lamp unit is more securely supported'against the effects of shock and vibration and its position more accurately and. eiliciently controlled.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, together with means whereby the latter may be carried into eilect, will best be understood from thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings;l this, however, 'having been chosen for $0 purposes of exemplication merely, it being 4obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention, as' defined by the claims hereunto appended, may be otherwisel embodied without departure from the spirit and scope thereof.

35 In said drawings:

Fig. lis a vertical section of the complete assembly taken on the line of Fig. 2, the lamp unit being shown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof.

4 Figs. 3 and 4 are ysections taken substantially on the lines 3,-3 and Il-I, respectively, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a 'plan View, partly broken away, of the casing or mounting member with the lamp unit and certain other parts removed.

5 Figs. .6 and fl are sections taken subi intially on the lines 6--6 and 'l-l, respectively, rflg. 5.

The head-lamp unit properV comprises agsingle hollowbulb i5 of glass .or other transparent material, said bulb comprising a convex front portion 6 constituting a lens, a convex rear; portion I1 the inner concavesurface of Which` ccnstitutes a reflector, and an annular bead |8 at the junctiony oi-y said portionswiThe fllamentfcarrier or u plug I9 has a single,,lamentswprojecting.cen-

trally from the back portion Il of the bulb I5 into the interior thereof.

The mounting for the lamp unit comprises a casing 2| of flexible resilient material, preferably molded rubber, having a. rear or body por- 5 tion 22 which encloses and, except as hereinafter pointed out, engagesand fits the rear portion i1 of the lamp unit bulb I5 throughout the exterior surface ofthe latter except at the locality of the vacuum chamber, said body portion 22 terminatl0 ing in anannular forward wall or rim 23. The rim 23 is formed about its exterior periphery with a groove 24 in which is received and hldby a tight t, or secured as by vulcanizing or bonding if desired, the edge of an aperture in the l5 portion of the automobile by which the head lamp is to be supported or carried, herein the down-turnedend of a front fender 25. The rim or wall 23 is `also`formed with an interior groove 26 within which ts and is bonded .the bead I8 20 of theV head lamp unit I5. 'Ihe body portion 22 of the casing 2| lis formed centrally with a rearwardly extending portion 21 in which'are located sockets 28 toreceive the branches ofthe filament Y plug I9, said sockets being suitably connected, as 25 through contact members 29, with wires 30 leading from the usual, battery or other 4source of electrical current, n ot shown. Said body portion 22 is furtherfformed` with an offset, channelshaped portion'3i which preferably extends ver- 30 tically from the `central portion 2 1 ofthe casing to the top Aof thefront wall 'or rim 23 thereof and forms,- with ythe `adjacent portionof the rearof the lamp unit, va' differential fluid pressurev or vacuum chamber 32 which may be put into lcom- 35 munication,"`th'rougha tube 33, With'a suitable source of vacuum orl suction, as, for'example, the motor intake manifold, under the control cfa suitable hand or foot operated Vvacuum and relief valve, not shown. Y As* shownmost'clearly in Figs. 4g 3 and 4, the side walls 34of the 'channel portion 3| are somewhat thinner than theremainder cf the body-'portionY 22, thereby facilitating the v'eollapse-of said portionunderthe influence of the vacuum, v-as indicated in'broken lines in Fig. A3. 45 In order to yinsure the restoration of 'the parts to normal position upon release `of the vacuum, and for other purposes hereinafter explained, the outery wall lofy the 'portion 3|' is: formed a groove35 to lreceive a curved,laterally resilient 50 but -longitudinally substantially rigid, lea`f spring l:it so VShaper-1 as" normally tofgtend to hold the parts'innormalor -distended conditic'iny and engaging the router `wall ofthe channel portion'fl throughoutthe length of thlatterl' Inorderrto limit the extent of collapse of the portion 30, and consequently the relative movement of the outer wall thereof and the lamp unit I3 toward one another, the spring 36 is formed with a threaded socket 31 to receive a stop screw 38, the head 39 of which is located in an extension 40' formed in the outer wall of the portion 3| and slotted, as shown at 4|, to afford access to said head for purposes of inserting and adjusting the screw 38. The front wall or rim 23 of the casing 2| is formed at diametrically opposite points (herein the opposite ends of the horizontal diarneter, which is perpendicular to the central plane of the offset portion 3|) with thickened or stiffened portions or reinforcements l2 which resist flexure of said wall at this point, said wall being otherwise relatively thin and flexible, as shown at 43 in Figs. 1, 6 and 7, except at the upper or forward end of the channel portion 3| where it is formed With another thickened portion d4 having a recess to receive rollers 45 which act as supports for said front wall at this point to prevent collapse thereof under the influence of the vacuum in the chamber 32.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the casing 2|, which forms the sole support and housing of the lamp, completely encloses the latter at the rear and firmly, but resiliently, supports the same against shock and vibration. It will also be observed that, except for the differences in convexity, the lamp unit is supported with its outer face substantially flush with the outer face of the fender 25 or other support, thereby presenting a neat and attractive appearance and obviating the necessity of any other closure for the opening in said support.

The normal position of the parts is shown in full lines in Fig. 1. In this position the plane of the annular bead i8 is slightly inclined forwardly from the perpendicular, so that the axis L of the beam of light projected from the lamp unit is slightly depressed from the horizontal in order to strike the road at a predetermined but relatively short distance in front of the vehicle. In order to elevate the beam, as indicated by the axial line H, to illuminate the road at a greater distance, the resilient casing 2| is distorted from its normal shape by subjecting the chamber 32 to vacuum or suction through the tube 33. The effect of this is to partially collapse the channel portion 3|, flatten the spring 36, and cause the outer wall of said channel portion and the upper portion of the lamp unit to approach one another to the extent permitted by the stop screw 38, or, as more fully explained in the prior application above referred to, to an intermediate position determined by control of the degreeof vacuum employed. The partial collapse of the channel portion 3| causes a flattening of the spring 36, as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1, and as said spring is longitudinally substantially rigid, and as its upper or forward end is substantially fixed, flattening thereof causes it to exert a downward thrust upon the lower portion of the body 22 which is transmitted to the lower part of the rim -or wall 23 forcing the latter, and consequently the lower portion of the lamp unit, forwardly. This forward movement of the rim is limited to the lower half thereof, since said rim is substantially firmly anchored at its horizontal diameter to the support 25 by the stiffenedor reinforced portions 42.- Since, however, the lamp unit itself is'substantially rigid, and since it, as well as the rim 23, is held against forward movement by the anchoring portions 42, forward movement thereof at the bottom is accompanied by a rearward movement at the top (this action being assisted to a more or less extent by the eect of the vacuum or suction in the chamber 32) so that the lamp unit is tilted about the axis of the reenforcements 42 into the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 1 to elevate the axis of the projected light beam into the position H.

It will be observed that, as the construction and arrangement described results in tilting the lamp unit about a substantially diametric axis, as distinguished from an axis at one edge, only a relatively small movement of the lamp is required for a given deflection of the light beam.

n the construction shown the axis of the reenforcements l2 is substantially horizontal, while the central plane of the channel portion 3| and vacuum chamber 32 issubstantially vertical, so that the angularmovements of' the axis of the light beam are in a vertical direction. It will be obvious, however, that, if desired, by slightly changing the angular positions of said axis and plane, while preserving their substantially relatively perpendicular arrangement, the movement of the light beam can be given a horizontal as well as a vertical component in order to project the same toward the center of the road from the side of the road as it is elevated.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the rubber casing for the lamp l not only provides a cushion mounting for the lamp, damping out vibrations and absorbing shocks, but also affords protection to the lamp against stones, gravel and other objects thrown up by the wheel of the vehicle.

I claim:

1. The combination with a lamp bulb having lan integral portion constituting a reflector, of a resilient casing embracing said reflector to hold said bulb and to provide a resilient mounting therefor, a fluid pressure chamber formed on said casing, and means for varying the fluid pressure within said chamber in order to flex said casing and thereby to vary the position of said bulb.

2. The combination with a lamp bulb having an 'integral portion constitutinga reflector, of a resilient casing embracing said reflector to hold said bulb and to provide a. resilient mounting therefor, a chamber formed on said casing, and means creating partial vacuum in said chamber in order to cause distortion of said casing and thereby to vary the position of said bulb.

3. The combination with a lamp bulb having an integral portion constituting a reflector, of a resilient casing embracing said reflector to hold said bulb and to provide a resilient mounting therefor, a chamber formed on said casing, means creating partial vacuum in said chamber in order to cause distortion of said casing and thereby to vary the position of said bulb, and a return spring adapted to restore the casing to its normal shape when the pressure is restored in said chamber and thereby to bring said bulb to its original position.

4. The combination with a lamp bulb having an integral portion constituting a reflector, of a resilient casing embracing said reflector to hold said bulb and to provide a resilient mounting therefor, a chamber formed on said casing, means creating partial vacuum in said chamber in order to cause distortion of said casing and thereby to vary the position of said bulb, a return spring adapted to restore the casing to its normal shape when the pressure is restored in said chamber and thereby to bring said bulb to its original position, and a stop screw carried by said spring and adapted to limit the operative stroke of said bulb,

5. The combination with a lamp bulb having a portion constituting a reflector, of a resilient casing embracing said reflector to hold said bulb, an annular rim on said casing adapted to be connected to a support thereby providing a mounting for said bulb, and pneumatic means adapted to act directly on said casing and to distort said rim and thereby to change the position of said bulb.

6. The 4combination with a lamp bulb having a portion constituting a reflector, of a resilient casing embracing said reflector to hold said bulb, an annular rim on said casing adapted to be connected to a support thereby providing a mounting for said bulb, a portion on said casing having a convex exterior wall and forming a chamber, and a curved laterally resilient but longitudinally substantially rigid spring engaging said wall throughout the length of said chamber, whereby creation of a partial vacuum in said chamber r'esults in flattening o! said spring to cause it -to exert a longitudinal thrust upon said casing and to distort said rim to change the position of said bulb.

7. 'Ihe combination with a lamp bulb having an integral portion constituting a reilector, of a resilient casing embracing said reflector to hold said bulb and to provide a resilientmounting therefor, a chamber formed on said casing, means creating partial vacuum in said chamber in order to cause distortion of said casing and thereby to vary the position of said bulb, a return spring adapted to restore the casing to its normal shape when the pressure is restored in said chamber and thereby to bring said bulb to its original position, a stop device carried by said spring andA adapted to limit the operative stroke of said bulb.

and means for adjustably varying the position of said device and consequently the length of said 20 

